CPI and Cohda use printed electronics to optimise Crypsis Lighting

22 September 2014

UK design studio Cohda have worked with CPI on the integration of printed electronics to significantly enhance the functionality of their ‘Crypsis Lighting’ product and to develop the product from prototype to full commercial manufacture.
Crypsis Lighting offers wireless ultra-bright LEDs that can be repositioned and dimmed within a transparent glass panel using an external magnetic control puck. The system is a fully interactive low voltage lighting unit and is currently being utilised in a number of museum display cases, where there is a need for a delicate lighting system to maintain their integrity.
The package includes a glass panel, light units, control puck, access power point and transformer. All of these components can be tailored for bespoke applications, allowing the technology to be used within a diverse range of products and markets such as interior design, exhibition design, museum, architecture and contemporary lighting.
Prior to engaging with CPI, Crypsis Lighting utilised silicon based electronics for their control puck. Due to the rigid nature the circuitry, Cohda encountered a number of problems within research and development including; the scratching of the display glass by the control puck and electrical arcing between the pyrolytic glass and the electronics within the puck.

"The facilities and expertise at CPI have allowed to not only improve our product in research and development but to also take the concept to full scale manufacturing. We are currently selling Crypsis Lighting on a global scale and have plans to utilise the technology in other innovative market sectors aside from museum applications".
Richard Liddle, Creative Director at Cohda

CPI worked with Cohda to use printed electronics to bring flexibility and conformability into the design of their puck device. These properties enabled the electronics to conform to the surface contact of the glass, resulting in the elimination of electrical arcing, stratching and an increase in conductivity levels.

The printing of electronics is an emerging technology that opens up a host of design opportunities and will lead to the creation of a range of future electronic applications in key market sectors such as print and packaging, healthcare, construction, automotive and aerospace. The integration of flexible form factors increases the freedom for product designers to embed technology and functionality into their designs, creating the opportunity for new, innovative components that are wireless, smarter, interactive, conformable, thinner, lightweight, rugged and are able to blend into our surrounding environment.

These new ways of manufacturing electronics will give rise to a wide range of new, novel applications such as flexible displays for mobile devices, smart therapeutic bandages for managing and monitoring recovery of wounds, wearable electronics for monitoring and improving performance, wireless medical devices for rapid diagnostics using printed sensors, conformable lighting and intelligent packaging for consumer goods and industrial products, to name but a few.

CPI is the UK’s National Centre for Printed Electronics, designed to take innovative ideas from concept to production. CPI offers world class, open access capability in the scale up and commercialisation of printable electronics applications. CPI’s facilities and expertise allow clients to understand how their products and processes perform under manufacturing conditions, accelerating their commercial realisation.

Partnering with CPI and accessing their pilot scale production line, Cohda were able to redesign, validate and optimise the development of their prototype and scale up the product to manufacturing scale. Within the project, CPI collaborated with local innovative SMEs; 4C Electronics, and Cleveland Circuits to test, develop and refine the concept. Full scale production of the printed electronics elements within Crypsis Lighting were undertaken by local manufacturing company and CPI partner MAPP Systems. Future development work is currently being undertaken to further test, develop and optimise the printed electronics used in the device.

Cookies on Catapult explained

To comply with EU directives we now provide detailed information about the cookies we use. To find out more about cookies on this site, what they do and how to remove them, see our information about cookies. Click OK to continue using this site.